This report discusses the online video activity of internet users between 2006 to 2009.
Video-sharing sites such as YouTube, Hulu, and Google Video have nearly doubled their viewership since 2006. 62% of adult internet users watch online videos compared to only 33% of this same demographic in 2006. Nine out of ten adults 18-29 watch online video content. Online videos are now more integrated into users daily lives, which may lead to less viewership of traditional television broadcasting. On a typical day, 19% of users now watch videos online, which has more than doubled since 2006. Broadband connectivity seems to be the main source that has facilitated the popularity of video sharing sites. 63% of internet users now have high-speed internet access, and among those users 69% watch videos online.
23% of internet users who watch television shows or movies online also connect their computers to their televisions to watch the shows. These users make up roughly 8% of all internet users.
One final statistic to mention is that mobile users are far more likely to watch online videos. 71% of users with wireless connectivity watch online videos. Cell phone companies have recognized this trend and companies like Apple now offer video recording and video uploads on their iPhone.
So what do these stats all mean? More web users seem to be adopting their computers as their second television and in some cases replacing their televisions with their computers. For me personally, I am watching less and less television. I recently canceled my cable subscription and can now only watch over-the-air TV. "Project Runway" was one of the shows I was going to miss without cable, but luckily this show is streamed online; so I am able to continue watching it. Online videos have made it more convenient to watch programming that many people may have previously foregone.
A couple of years ago I wouldn't have thought of watching TV shows online and broadcast and cable companies were not offering many shows online. Television companies have come to the realization that there is value in featuring their programs to an online audience. Broadcasters have seen their television viewership sink lower and lower every year. Today's audience has so many more choices for entertainment between cable, broadcast, online, etc. Broadcasters realize in order to compete in today's media landscape they must offer their products online, or they may be out-competed by other companies.
I would venture to say that in another couple of years the values of these stats will continue to dramatically increase. More users will have the opportunity to have high-speed access and more shows will be available online. Coming from a television background, it is scary for me to think of a world without traditional television, but I see the likelihood of this happening as almost inevitable. I don't think television will actually go away, but I do see the likelihood of the way audiences view television changing dramatically.
Attached is a link to the full report: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/13--The-Audience-for-Online-VideoSharing-Sites-Shoots-Up.aspx
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So funny - I too thought that the whole watching tv programs online thing was just a fad. I had a hard time doing it because I missed the presence of the television (whatever that means - well, it means I'm attached to that old box I suppose). Now, I watch online all of the time. Especially when I'm in class then instead of recording a program I go to the network's website. I think for me, it is the first-air aspect that I like. For example - watching the Desperate Housewives season premier and knowing my friends in Tulsa are watching it at the same time. I need to get over it.
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